Gabe Perreault finally starting to live up to Rangers expectations

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mollie Walker about the inside buzz on the Rangers.By now, Gabe Perreault agrees, the game has started to slow down for him.

He has skated in 27 games with the Rangers this season.He has collected 11 points, including a career-best three during their overtime loss to the Blue Jackets on Monday, and flashed the dynamic offensive skill set that defined the former first-round pick’s game with Boston College and AHL Hartford.That latest sample — which fueled a four-goal comeback in the third period — served as the most recent glimpse of Perreault’s potential in his first extended NHL stint.

Head coach Mike Sullivan said he bumped Perreault up to skate with Vincent Trocheck in overtime because of his performance, too.And all of a sudden, in the middle of a lost season filled with constant shuffling, the Rangers finally have a prospect seemingly positioned to end their development woes.“I wouldn’t say he’s the fastest or the strongest or the biggest, but he’s really quick to pucks and has a great stick and his hockey brain really helps him a lot — and he’s obviously got elite skill,” Rangers forward J.T.

Miller, who skated alongside Perreault on the first line recently before landing on injured reserve Tuesday, said postgame Monday.The lack of production from top Blueshirts draft picks — from Alexis Lafrenière and Brennan Othmann to the since-traded Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil — has spanned coaching staffs.There have been spurts, with Lafrenière’s 2024 postseason being the most recent example before Perreault, but all, at some point, faded.

There was always a chance for Perreault to snap the drought.The last two months have only solidified that.Perreault ripped a shot from the slot Monday to make it 4-2, and then he tied the game later in the third period by skating toward the right side of the net and lifting a shot past Blue Jackets goalt...